This invention is directed to a system and method for selecting a business location, wherein the business location has an activity level indicator. More particularly, this invention is directed to a system and method for directing customers to a selected business location based on the business activity level of the establishment. In particular, a potential customer receives an indication as to the business activity level, such as customers in line, average wait time, and the like, of selected establishments allowing the customer to select the establishment that offers the most efficient service.
Customers often use store or service establishment locators to find the locations of the stores or services in a selected geographic area. Such store or service locator is typically implemented as a web application or web service. A customer is generally able to identify available service locations within the selected geographic area based on criteria specified by the customer. The customer will then select the most convenient location. Additional information about each location may be provided, such as operating hours, types of services available, and directions.
However, current store or service locators do not provide any real-time information which would assist the customer in selecting a particular location. It would be desirable for a customer to have information about the current activity level of each location, such as the number of customers in line, the average wait time, operating hours, and the like. If the customer were to have such information, the customer would be able to select the most accessible location in the selected geographic area with the fewest customers or the shortest waiting time. As current store or service locators do not provide such information, the customer will randomly pick a location based on criteria other than business activity level of the location, such as the services offered or proximity to the customer. The selected location may be very busy and the customer will have a long wait or will decide to go to another location. It would be desirable to have a store or service locator which provides real-time information as to the business activity at each location.
The subject invention overcomes the aforementioned problems and provides a system and method for directing customers to a business location or establishment.